A Mormon mom teaches discipline to 2.5 million YouTube subscribers.
But behind the camera, Ruby Franke was running something closer to a cult than a household.
This Hulu docuseries is one of the most disturbing cases of influencer-fueled abuse ever documented — with exclusive interviews from her kids, ex-husband, and thousands of hours of unseen family footage.
Trailer for “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke”
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
- August 2023, Ruby Franke’s 12-year-old son escaped Jodi Hildebrandt’s Utah home—duct tape on his wrists and ankles, malnourished, begging a neighbor for help.
- Punished for their “sins” by standing barefoot on hot cement for hours, the kids were forced to perform intense manual labor for days without food or water.
- Wounds were treated not with medicine but with cayenne pepper and honey. They were tied up with ropes and handcuffs in the name of “casting out evil spirits.”
Watch “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke”
You can watch “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke” on Hulu.
For more streaming options, check JustWatch.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 88/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 81/100 (Users)/na (Critis)
Director’s Note: This docuseries is directed by Olly Lambert. Olly Lambert is known for Masters of Darkness (2002), Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls (2018), and Cutting Edge (1990).
Release Date: 2025
My Review of “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke”
The Setup
Ruby Franke built a massive YouTube audience through her channel “8 Passengers,” where she portrayed her Mormon family as wholesome and tightly bonded. But by 2023, viewers had picked up on strange punishments and controlling behavior. When her son escaped from the home of her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, the truth could no longer hide behind sponsored content and kitchen vlogs.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Shari Franke, the oldest daughter, suspected abuse for years and was the one who first contacted authorities when her brother escaped.
- The series shows how a woman named Jodi Hildebrandt got involved in Ruby Franke’s life by pretending to help with religious values and moral behavior. But instead, she ended up separating Ruby from her husband and kids. Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt were both sentenced to up to 30 years in prison after they admitted they were guilty.
- Kevin Franke, Ruby’s husband, says on camera that Jodi tricked him into letting her control their family. But he says he didn’t know how bad the abuse really was.
- The documentary also shows never-before-seen videos from over 1,000 hours of YouTube footage that was never shared before. It shows what Ruby did post—and what she chose to leave out.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Jodi Hildebrandt was previously sanctioned by the Utah licensing board for inappropriate therapy methods—but continued practicing for years.
- Ruby’s blog and video library includes now-removed “discipline” tutorials where she proudly explains isolating her children in their rooms for months at a time.
- The family’s local LDS community reportedly distanced itself from Ruby long before her arrest, citing “extreme interpretations” of doctrine.
- One family friend says Ruby saw Jodi Hildebrandt as a “prophet figure,” and let her make nearly every parenting decision by the end.
Wrap Up
This isn’t just a story about abuse—it’s about how dangerous online fame, blind faith, and unchecked authority can become.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc